1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an automatic fire-extinguishing system, and particularly to an automatic fire-extinguishing system utilizing a fire-extinguishing gas.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In conventional automatic fire-extinguishing systems utilizing a fire-extinguishing gas, a bomb containing a fire-extinguishing gas, such as halon gas, under pressure is provided at a location. Several gas jetting nozzles are arranged at desired locations within a region wherein automatic extinguishing should be effected when a fire occurs therein. The gas jetting nozzles are connected through a valve and a pipe to the bomb. Fire sensors are arranged at desired locations within the region. In response to a fire signal from the fire sensors, the valve is opened to cause fire-extinguishing gas to jet from the gas jetting nozzles into the region so that automatic extinguishing can be effected therein.
However, since such conventional automatic fire-extinguishing systems require a complicated system of gas pipes from a gas bomb to the gas jetting nozzles, the cost and installation of the pipes is expensive. Moreover, since the gas pipes are fixedly arranged in the walls, ceiling, etc., of a room defining a region wherein automatic extinguishing should be effected when fire occurs therein, it is not easy to remove the gas pipes and to change the arrangement of the gas jetting nozzles. Furthermore, the gas bomb to be used must have a capacity comparable with the space of the region wherein automatic extinguishing should be effected and, therefore, gas bombs having different capacities must be prepared for different regions. This is very uneconomical.
To eliminate the drawbacks of the above-mentioned conventional fire-extinguishing system, G. J. Grabowski et al invented the fire protection apparatus which is disclosed in the U.S. Pat. No. 3,713,491. In this patent, a portable automatic fire protection system is disclosed comprising battery powered, independent suppressor units, each including a supply of fire extinguishing fluid and a fire detector. The connection of the individual unit's control circuits provides a control circuit network that automatically initiates an extinguishing fluid discharge from all units in response to fire detection by any single unit.
Even though the Grabowski et al system eliminates the above mentioned problems of the previous pipe arrangement, the sensing capability of this system is lowered because of the restricted disposition of the fire detector upon each independent suppressor. Since each suppressor is provided with the own-battery, if a number of suppressors are utilized for the fire-extinguishing system, the cost of the batteries becomes high.
The main object of this invention is to provide an automatic fire-extinguishing system which eliminates the above described disadvantages of the prior arts, and to enable easy installation or removal of the system in or from a region wherein automatic fire-extinguishing should be effected, and to allow a flexible arrangement of gas jetting nozzles according to the size and shape of the region.